Fenghou

The many sieges of the puppet Qi army were also led by Xie Qian to defeat them.

Xie Qian pondered for a while and said, "Xuanfu envoy, the puppet Qi army did not attack the city today, so they should also know that Chen Dutong is coming."

Li Gang also thought this was the reason. He knew that the puppet Qi army was very afraid of Chen Qing's cavalry. Now that Chen Qing led the cavalry and came back, how long can Dong Xian last?

"I'm thinking now, should I send troops out to fight with Chen Qing and defeat him!"

"Is it Chen Dutong's request?"

Li Gang nodded, "He wants me to give him an elite army of [-], and he will set up a formation to fight the enemy. What's Xie Dutong's opinion?"

Xie Qian thought for a while and said, "We still have 3000 troops. We can give him a spare [-] troops, and use [-] people in humble positions to defend Hanyang City."

Li Gang was afraid of Xie Qian's superfluous intentions, so he refused to agree to divide the troops. Unexpectedly, he agreed without hesitation. He was overjoyed and said quickly: "If the defense of Hanyang can be won this time, I will definitely give a memorial to the imperial court for the great contribution of defending Hanyang City." !"

"Thank you Xuanfu envoy, I'm afraid it's not just the humble minister's contribution."

"Of course I know that Liu Hongdao, the deputy commander of the capital, is sticking to Cangcheng, and Orihiko's logistics support is strong. It's everyone's joint credit, and I won't forget it."

At this time, the deputy envoy Zhe Yanzhi rushed over, clasped his fists and said, "Emissary Xuanfu is looking for me?"

Zhe Yanzhi previously served as Hunan appeasement envoy, responsible for exterminating Yang Yao, but because of the bad relationship between him and the capital commander Wang Xie, internal strife continued, resulting in the failure of the bandit suppression, Wang Xie was demoted, and Zhe Yanzhi was changed to Huguang Xuanfu deputy , together with Xie Qian, became Li Gang's right-hand man.

The current [-] reserve army is trained and led by Orihiko.

Li Gang said to him: "Chen Qing has arrived. He is ready to fight the enemy, but his strength is slightly insufficient. I would like to ask me to send [-] troops to support him."

Orihiko said hastily: "The humble staff is willing to lead the troops to go!"

Li Gang gave Xie Qian a wink, and Xie Qian left knowingly.

Li Gang walked to the top of the city, and confronted Zheyan for a long time: "Actually, I don't want you to lead the troops. Your official position is higher than that of Chen Qing. I'm afraid you won't be able to accept his command, but this army is trained and led by you. You'd better Knowing them, I am afraid that Chen Qing will not be able to command this army, which will affect the decisive battle, and I will be a deputy envoy, so I am very embarrassed."

Zhe Yanzhi is not only the deputy envoy of Huguang Xuanfu envoy, but also a direct bachelor of Longtu Pavilion from the third rank, and also a famous general in the world. Chen Qing is not only lower in official position than him, but also a rising star in fame. It is definitely not possible for Zhe Yanzhi to command Chen Qing. But Li Gang felt that it was inappropriate for Chen Qing to direct Zhe Yanzhi, so he was in a dilemma.

Orihiko smiled slightly and said: "Actually, it's not about Chen Qing's humble command. The two of us are fighting together. It's just that I will cooperate with him. The envoy Xuanfu doesn't have to worry too much. Besides, I have heard of Chen Qing's great reputation for a long time." It is also an honor for me to fight side by side with him.”

"I'm very pleased that the Deputy Envoy Zhe can think this way, so let's do it! I will appoint you as the Fuzheng of Han and Fuzhen again, and the Hanyang Army will be in charge. I will lead [-] Hanyang Army to cooperate with Chen Qing in the battle."

Chapter 322 The Final Battle

Of course, Chen Qing has also heard the name of the Zhe family for a long time. He has guarded northern Shaanxi for generations, and even his own Ganquan Fort was originally built by the Zhe family. daughter.

Zhe Yanzhi is also a famous general in the world, but most of his battles against the Jin soldiers ended in failure. The last battle was in the second year of Jingkang. He and Li Hui led an army of more than [-] to defend the south bank of the Yellow River. After escaping cleanly, Orihiko was demoted to be the Deputy Envoy of Yongzhou Tuanlian. In the first year of Jianyan, he was demoted to Changhua Army, which is Hainan Island, and stayed on the island for five full years.

Last year, he was strongly recommended by Xianggong Wang Ding and came back to serve as Hunan appeasement envoy, leading the army to suppress the bandits, but he was defeated by Yang Yao's chariot and boat. Fortunately, Wang Ding interceded for him, and it was not his responsibility to lose to Yang Yao. However, it was because Wang Xie, who was actually in charge of the army, refused to listen to the general's order, so he served as the deputy envoy of the Huguang Appeasement Department to cooperate with Li Gang to suppress the bandits.

It can be said that Orihikozhi's life was full of troubles. On the one hand, he did not have an army of his own in his hands, and the corruption of the Song Army repeatedly implicated him.

But on the other hand, it has something to do with his arrogance. He has always looked down on other Song generals and made people feel disgusted, so he always had a bad relationship with his colleagues, and even his relationship with Xie Qian was not good, so when Li Gang asked for Xie Qian's opinion, Xie Qian didn't care. Push him out without hesitation.

Orihikozu recruited [-] Hanyang disciples more than a month ago, most of whom had also served in the army. He spent more than a month training hard. , an army that can obey orders and fight.

Of course, Orihiko's haughty personality also depends on the person. Chen Qing has won many battles in Shaanxi, no matter against the Jin soldiers, the puppet Qi army, or the Xixia army. Just wiped out Yang Yao, Chen Qing's strength is here, and Orihiko will not be arrogant in front of him.

More importantly, Ganquan Fort, Chen Qing's old nest, was built by Orihiko's father. Chen Qing was active in the territory of the Zhejia Army. He had a natural affinity for Chen Qing, and he understood the hardships and combat skills of the Western Army.

Chen Qing was stationed in a forest. Hanyang Mansion was close to the Yangtze River. The forest was relatively humid, and the soldiers were uncomfortable. In addition, the dry food and fodder could not last for a few days.

Orihiko had a better understanding of the situation of the puppet Qi army, and introduced to Chen Qing: "The puppet Qi army attacked the city for seven days in a row, with more than 5 casualties, and there should be about [-] people now..."

"There are no more than 5 people!"

Yang Zaixing couldn't help but interjected, "We wiped out the [-] troops from the Northwest Battalion the night before yesterday."

Chen Qing glanced at Yang Zaixing, smiled slightly and said, "Let's let General Zhe finish first."

Orihiko chuckled, "You are all young people, and you are fearsome young people. General Yang's reminder was timely. The other party only has [-] troops and their morale is not high. Although we have fewer troops than them, we have [-] cavalry. , This is the cavalry of the western army, ten thousand can fight against thirty thousand enemy troops, in fact, our two armies are evenly matched, it depends on the performance on the spot and the change of tactics."

Chen Qing pondered for a while and said: "I respect the old general very much. We live in Fort Ganquan, and we admire the difficult environment of the Zhejia army even more. However, the two armies fight with a unified command. In specific battles, the [-] Hanyang army has to Rely on the command of the old general, but for the coordination and dispatch between the armies, you have to ask the old general to cooperate in the battle."

Orihiko nodded, "On the battlefield, the winner is king. Chen Dutong doesn't have to be so polite. Just order the deployment, and I will fully cooperate."

"Well, let's discuss the specific tactics. I have a thousand heavy shield troops here. I plan to order them to take the lead in attacking the enemy's crossbows..."

……

The war was finally about to break out, and Dong Xian also listened to the opinions of the generals, procrastinating would be bad for morale, and agreed to a decisive battle between the two armies.

The battlefield was placed in the wilderness north of Hanyang City. This was originally a wheat field, but it was not cultivated, forming an open space covering an area of ​​thousands of acres, just right for the battlefield.

The flags were like clouds, the horns were whimpering, and the 4000 troops on both sides formed a formation. The Song army formed a golden tower-shaped formation, with [-] infantry in front, a thousand heavy shields and short spears in the front, and [-] spears in the back. .

The [-] cavalry were divided into the left, middle, and rear wings. Liu Cui and Liu Qiong each led [-] cavalry to attack the left and right wings, and Yang Zaixing led [-] cavalry to attack the enemy's back.

Finally, there are ten thousand spear infantry led by Orihiko, who will fight in conjunction with the five thousand infantry ahead.

Chen Qing personally commanded the most elite [-] cavalry as an army to attack the enemy's formation.

Equivalent to the combination of foot and cavalry of the Song army, the deployment of the puppet Qi army is much simpler. Their five thousand logistics army did not go into battle. They are all craftsmen, cooks, grooms, civil servants, etc., and have no combat capabilities.

The [-] army is divided into four large square formations, front, back, left, and right. Among them, the front army square has [-] crossbowmen, and the other square formations are a combination of swords and shields and spears.

In terms of strength, the strength of the two sides is similar, it depends on the performance on the spot and the morale of the soldiers.

The two armies were two miles apart. Chen Qing squinted at the opponent's formation for a while, and saw that the opponent's crossbowmen were already in place, obviously preparing to deal with the attack of the Song army's cavalry.

Chen Qing sneered, he has cavalry, it is true that he needs to launch an attack first, but their cavalry is not Jurchen, they will resist a hard frontal impact.

"Command, go to battle!"

The drums of attack sounded.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The sound of the drums was earth-shattering.

A thousand heavy shield and short spear troops took the lead. They formed a small square formation and marched towards the enemy step by step. Behind them, a hundred steps away, was a square formation of 4000 spear infantry, which also began to march forward in formation.

As it got closer, Wang Jian, a crossbow soldier, shouted, "Get ready to shoot!"

The puppet Qi army raised three thousand bows and two thousand crossbows together, and a thousand soldiers with heavy shields suddenly accelerated and ran. When they were 150 steps away from the opponent, the team dispersed, pulled into two long lines, and rushed forward.

At this time, the classic method of dealing with the bow and arrow array is that when the opponent's archery critical point is approaching, the team will disperse, forcing the opponent to change the long-prepared target and find the target again, which will delay the time and at least reduce the opponent's round of shooting .

This tactic did affect two thousand crossbow troops. The killing distance of the crossbow arrows is between 150 and 180 steps. The Song army suddenly changed its formation at 150 steps, which affected the firing of the crossbow arrows. When they adjusted properly, the Song army had rushed to 120. One step, a whole round of shooting was delayed.

"Fire arrows!"

Bows and crossbows were fired at the same time, and five thousand arrows rained densely in the air, roaring and shooting at the Song army. One thousand Song soldiers were well trained, and immediately squatted down and raised their large shield at a sixty-degree angle. This angle was just right. Cover the whole body without missing anything.

Arrows fell like raindrops, crackling and hitting the ground and the large shield, and more than [-] soldiers were shot by the arrows and fell to the ground, and their companions immediately stepped forward to rescue them.

Arrows are not like bullets that can be fatal when shot into the body. Arrows are basically flesh wounds and cannot be shot into the body. With armor protection, there is less information about a fatal arrow, unless it hits the forehead, throat, etc. Otherwise, they are basically injured, and the fear is that the treatment will not be given in time, and they will bleed too much and die.

This is also one of the reasons why the death rate was the highest in the era of cold weapons. All soldiers of the Song Army have first-aid kits, hemostatic ointment, dog skin ointment, and a roll of cloth. Rescue, as well as rescue medical sergeants accompanying the army.

Dozens of soldiers stayed behind to help their companions, and the other soldiers continued to run forward. They had already reached fifty or sixty steps, and soldiers were constantly shot down while running.

Thirty steps away from the enemy, the crossbowmen stopped shooting and retreated backwards. Instead, the spear army stepped forward. The four thousand Song army spear army behind also accelerated their running speed, and gradually merged with the heavy shield and short spear army. One.

The two armies collide with a bang...

"Ugh-"

Hundreds of horns sounded at the same time, and three cavalrymen were dispatched. They rushed out like three torrents, and rushed towards the [-]-man phalanx on both sides of the enemy army, as well as the rear phalanx behind them.

This formed a pattern of three cavalry against 1 infantry phalanxes, and [-] Song infantry against [-] former troops.

Chapter 323 The Final Battle

The first cavalry to attack the enemy was Liu Cui, who led 3000 left cavalry. The enemy's formation was arranged facing east, but the cavalry entered from the south side. The large formation needs to change direction, but the change of direction cannot be accomplished by turning south. This involves a very important issue of spacing. The length of the spear is one foot and five feet, which is four meters five, which requires soldiers to have a distance of at least About one zhang.

But the soldiers on the side are shoulder to shoulder, there is no gap at all. If it is a well-trained army, they will immediately adjust the gap, and a row of 500 people will immediately turn into five rows of 100 people, and the gap will come out, but the premise There is a lot of training, but for an army that lacks training, this kind of formation adjustment will definitely be a mess.

This side attack tactic was not invented by Chen Qing. It is actually a traditional tactic used by the Liao and Jin cavalry to deal with the Song army. The biggest problem of the Song army is the lack of training, so every time the Liao and Jin cavalry attacked from the side, the Song army would be in chaos. .

Although the puppet Qi army was better trained than the Song army, the time left for them by the cavalry was too short, and it was too late to change the distance, so the Song army rushed in.

The [-] soldiers from the Puppet Qi Army quickly changed direction, but the one-foot-wide gap between them was too late to be filled, and the cavalry of the Song Army rushed in, and the [-] Song soldiers rushed into the infantry to fight fiercely with them. At this time, the formation was meaningless , The originally neat queue was disrupted, and gradually became separate battles, and the battlefield became bigger and bigger unknowingly.

The infantry relies on density to fight against the cavalry, so that the cavalry's high-speed maneuvering advantage cannot be brought into play, but once the density of the infantry gradually becomes loose, the cavalry's advantage will be revealed.

For example, if an infantry and cavalry fight within a range of one foot, although the cavalry occupies the height, the infantry will not suffer. He can stab or assassinate people. The assassination range is wide, and the cavalry cannot avoid it. At this time, the infantry is actually occupying the ground. upper hand.

But if the infantry and cavalry are fighting within a range of three feet, the range of activities of the cavalry is slightly enlarged. At this time, the cavalry has the upper hand, but once it becomes a battle within a range of ten feet, the cavalry will almost kill the infantry one-sidedly.

But the infantry understands this truth, but it is difficult to grasp it when it is really fighting. This is the difference between an elite infantry and an ordinary infantry. We say that formation is so important. This is why a high-density formation , One cavalry is fighting ten infantry, the other cavalry can't attack, they are all idle behind.

It's a pity that the puppet Qi army is only slightly better than the rotten Song army, but it is not elite, otherwise it would not be tortured and killed by the Western army in the northwest.

The current puppet Qi army is just an ordinary infantry, but what they encountered was one of the most powerful cavalry in the history of the Song Dynasty.

In just half an hour, the battlefield expanded from more than 1000 mu to [-] mu. Except for the [-] infantry led by Wang Duo and Orihiko, who were in a stalemate with the enemy's [-] former army, the other three infantry groups The cavalry was completely suppressed by the cavalry of the Song army. The cavalry formed a team of hundreds of people and cut the infantry into pieces. The three infantry were obviously not the opponent of the cavalry. Although their strength was three times that of the opponent, they were still defeated and retreated , suffered heavy casualties.

At this time, a catfish was needed to break the stalemate between the two infantry, and the thousand most elite cavalry led by Chen Qing himself played this role.

A thousand soldiers led by Chen Qing rushed into the enemy formation from behind. Like an extremely sharp axe, they forcibly split the enemy formation in half. Flying, people's heads rolling around, the killing was extremely bloody, the soldiers of the Puppet Qi Army were terrified of him, and when they saw him killing him, they stumbled and ran away in fright, shouting, "The devil is coming! The devil is coming!"

Chen Qing smashed through the enemy's large formation, and then killed from a diagonal. A thousand cavalry were invincible, and the places they passed were like mowing grass. Slices of enemy troops were killed, and they rushed through five or six back and forth. The dense formation has become a mess, and more than 1 Song Army infantry seem to have broken through a thin shell and entered the interior. The force was already superior, and with the help of the cavalry, it was even more dominant. The enemy army cried and shouted, and fled in all directions.

Dong Xian saw that the Song army already had [-]% advantage, and it was difficult for them to recover from their defeat. Instead of being completely defeated, it is better to take the initiative to retreat.

He shouted: "The army is ordered to retreat to the north! To retreat to the north!"

'when!when!when! When the bell rang, Dong Xian led more than a thousand people to flee to the north. It was not so much a retreat as a rout. The fighting will of the soldiers of the Puppet Qi Army collapsed. The whole army was defeated. Everyone just wanted to escape , threw away his helmet and armor, and fled to the north desperately.

At this time, Li Gang also ordered to open the city, and Xie Qian led [-] troops to attack the enemy's camp. Liu Zhen, the general of the camp, was smarter and opened the camp to surrender. They would rather surrender to Li Gang's army than Chen Qing's army surrendered.

However, this time Chen Qing did not kill the prisoners. The [-] cavalry were responsible for chasing and killing the enemy. As long as they surrendered, they could let them go, and Orihiko's infantry was responsible for receiving the surrender.

The cavalry chased for more than 30 miles in one breath, and then stopped the pursuit.

In this battle, except for the surrender of all the logistics battalions, more than 2 of the [-] enemy troops were killed, and more than [-] surrendered. Dong Xian collected the remnants fifty miles away, but only received more than [-] people. I was terrified and didn't dare to stay for a long time, so I fled to Xiangyang with the remnants of the army.

And Chen Qing also suffered a lot of casualties. His cavalry killed 800 people and injured more than 2000 people. The infantry killed more than 2000 people and injured more than [-] people.

At this time, Orihiko brought Chen Qing to meet Li Gang. In this battle, Chen Qing himself was convinced by his commanding ability and ability to see the opportunity of battle. Not only did they have a wise and decisive coach, but also many generals who could stand alone. The elite and fierce soldiers formed an army with extremely strong combat effectiveness. It is worthy of being the elite of the elite of the Western Army. I am afraid that this is also the most powerful army in the Song Dynasty.

Chen Qing greeted Li Gang, and Li Gang asked with a smile: "Can Chen Dutong teach me how to fight the next battle?"

Chen Qing pondered for a while and said: "I think the next battle should be divided into two groups. One will be led by the Xuanfu envoy to recover Yingzhou and prepare to march towards Xiangyang, and the other will be led by the humble official to lead the headquarters to Xiazhou to attack Jiang Yanxian's army. Beizhi suggested that Xuanfu envoys should not rush to attack Xiangyang, after all, they still have more than 2 troops, it is best to wait for Beizhi to come to join them, and then attack Xiangyang before it is too late."

Li Gang nodded, "I see, I will take back Changshou County first!"

Chen Qing said again: "I have sent Zheng Ping to lead [-] troops and [-] vehicles and ships to Xiangyang to capture the enemy's [-] grain fleet. From the time, Zheng Ping should be near Xiangyang. If he succeeds, he will We will take the fleet to Changshou County to join the Xuan Fu envoy."

"I am looking forward to the navy led by Zheng. It will definitely become the wings for us to take back Xiangyang."

Now Li Gang also attaches great importance to the navy, and thanks to Chen Qing's destruction of the enemy's navy in advance, they can ensure that they will no longer be attacked by the enemy. With Zheng Ping's navy, they can cut off all kinds of reinforcements in Xiangyang.

Chen Qing left the wounded soldiers in Hanyang to recuperate. After resting overnight, he resupplied and led [-] cavalry and [-] infantry to Xiazhou by boat.

On the pier, Li Gang watched the mighty fleet go away, he smiled and asked Zhe Yanzhi, "What is Zhe Dutong's deepest feeling in this decisive battle?"

Orihiko sighed: "All kinds of feelings are too deep, I can give you an example, and Xuan Fushi will understand."

"Speak, I'm all ears!"

Orihiko pondered for a while and said: "I am very familiar with the [-] troops that I cooperated with this time. They were originally the Yuezhou army, and I once led them. At that time, they gave me the impression that they were a very mediocre army, but now they are My impression is that it is a well-trained elite army, all of them are fighting the enemy bravely, fearless of death, completely like reborn, I feel that his army is like a melting pot, a mediocre hatchet It will also be forged into a sharp sword."

Zhe Yanzhi sighed, and said to Li Gang: "Forgive me for my humble words, such an army should stay in the Western Army, where is their world."

Li Gang nodded, "I will suggest to the officials!"

Chapter 324 Yiling

When the fleet passed through Baling County, 4000 people were transferred from the 5000 defenders, making Chen Qing's army reach [-], including [-] cavalry and [-] infantry. The fleet and shore cavalry continued to march westward , arrived in Yiling five days later.

At this time, Xiazhou had been captured by Jiang Yanxian. Thousands of Song troops in Xiazhou retreated to Baidi City and Zigui County to continue to defend. Jiang Yanxian firmly implemented Wanyanchang's strategic intention and continued to lead an army to attack Guizhou.

The key to Xiazhou lies in Yiling County, which is today's Yichang. Seizing Yiling County will open the door to the Bashu East Line and enter Sichuan along the Three Gorges Road.

The guard of Yiling County is called Wang Bin, who is a commander under Jiang Yanxian and leads 3000 people to guard Yiling County.

Yiling County is located on the north bank of the Yangtze River. It is a middle county. It just guards the only way to enter the Three Gorges Road. It also has a wharf beside the Yangtze River. The county seat is about one mile away, and restaurants, inns, teahouses, brothels, and shops of all sizes are densely distributed on both sides of the road. Once a passenger ship docks, a large group of guys and bartenders will come up to warmly invite customers, and many prostitutes will look at each other. ogle.

Since Yang Yao was annihilated, the number of cargo ships on the Yangtze River waterway has increased significantly. Yiling County has become more prosperous and lively when leaving and entering Sichuan.

In the afternoon, a cargo ship docked slowly, and a middle-aged businessman stepped off the ship, followed by a dozen guys, carrying heavy cargo boxes.

As usual, a group of guys and bartenders came forward to solicit customers enthusiastically, "The proprietor, please come to our store for a drink! Authentic Yiling sake."